In his book, he claims: “I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy.”
He also outlines the ways that he may be of use to his brother, who is next in line for the throne, writing: “Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow.”
Of course, it is worth noting that being a sibling does not make an individual a perfect donor. Columbia Surgery notes on its website that siblings only have a 25 percent change of being an exact match for living donors and a 50 percent chance of being considered a half match for kidney transplants, as donor compatibility depends on blood types, antigens and other factors. And although siblings are most likely to be matches for bone marrow, there is still only a one in four chance of them being an exact match.
Harry, who is two years younger than his brother, explained that William was the heir and he was the spare. He said this has been reinforced throughout his life and was made abundantly clear to him at a very early age.
He also claimed in the book that he was told a story that his father supposedly told his mother on the day that he was born: “Wonderful! You have already given me an heir and a spare; I have done my job.”
Although he conceded it could have been a joke, he continued to paint his father in a negative light, adding that “minutes after delivering this bit of high comedy, Pa was said to have gone off to meet with his girlfriend.”
He also claimed that King Charles refused to fly with William on the same aircraft in case it were to crash and both would be killed at the same time. However, Harry was not subject to the same restriction.
“But no one gave a damn whom I travelled with; the Spare could always be spared,” he noted.
He also recounted feeling as though there had been a “public sacrifice of the Spare” in order to help prop up the other royals. He identified 2002 headlines about his drug use as evidence, despite admitting that many of the stories had actually been true.
He claims the situation became even worse when William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, had two children which meant that as the fifth in line for the throne, he was essentially “no longer even the Spare of the Spare.”
Book paints Prince William in a very negative light
In the book, Harry took plenty of opportunities to make his brother look bad. He explained how his brother "recoiled” when his now wife, Meghan Markle, attempted to hug him during their first meeting in 2016.
He also claimed that his brother physically attacked him over an argument about Meghan, pushing him to the floor and causing him to be injured by a dog bowl. He said that on that occasion, William “was in full Heir mode, and couldn’t fathom why I wasn’t dutifully playing the role of the Spare.”
King Charles is reportedly “deeply hurt” by his son’s claims in the book, while Harry and Prince William are not even on speaking terms.
Critics are quick to point out that after pleading with the media for privacy surrounding his personal life, Harry has done nothing but seek the public eye, agreeing to high-profile TV interviews, a Netflix documentary and writing a tell-all memoir, among other acts.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.
